KEY POINTS

• Investors traded 8.029 billion shares worth ₦185.358 billion in 160,836 transactions during the week.
• Trading volume rose from 2.829 billion shares in the previous week, but transaction value fell by 11.06 per cent.
• Financial services accounted for 60.45 per cent of total trading volume.
• The NGX All-Share Index gained 1.36 per cent, while 43 equities appreciated and 39 declined.

MAIN STORY

Investors traded 8.029 billion shares worth ₦185.358 billion in 160,836 transactions on the Nigerian Exchange Ltd. (NGX) during the week, as market activity increased by volume but declined by value.

The figures, released by the NGX, compared with 2.829 billion shares valued at ₦208.407 billion exchanged in 192,158 deals in the previous week.

Although the volume of shares traded increased, the total value of transactions fell by 11.06 per cent, while the number of deals declined.

The financial services industry led trading activity with 4.854 billion shares worth ₦95.790 billion exchanged in 72,047 deals.

The sector accounted for 60.45 per cent of total trading volume and 51.68 per cent of transaction value.

The agriculture industry ranked second, recording 2.243 billion shares valued at ₦22.777 billion in 5,884 deals.

Consumer goods followed with 260.996 million shares worth ₦11.887 billion traded in 20,779 deals.

Trading in Linkage Assurance, Livestock Feeds and First Holdco accounted for 5.831 billion shares worth ₦76.060 billion in 9,544 deals.

Together, the three equities represented 72.63 per cent of total trading volume and 41.03 per cent of transaction value.

The NGX All-Share Index rose by 1.36 per cent to close at 252,269.16 points, while market capitalisation stood at ₦163.796 trillion.

However, six indices closed lower: NGX Main Board, NGX Banking, NGX AFR Bank Value, NGX MERI Growth, NGX Consumer Goods and NGX Growth. Their respective declines were 0.06 per cent, 0.21 per cent, 0.49 per cent, 0.13 per cent, 0.55 per cent and 1.92 per cent.

THE ISSUES

The week’s trading figures show why a rise in the number of shares exchanged does not necessarily mean investors spent more money on the market.

Investors traded about 8.03 billion shares, compared with 2.83 billion in the previous week. However, the value of those transactions fell from ₦208.41 billion to ₦185.36 billion.

This means more shares changed hands, but the total amount paid for them was lower. The difference can reflect the prices of the shares traded and the mix of companies attracting activity.

The concentration of trading in three equities is also significant. Linkage Assurance, Livestock Feeds and First Holdco accounted for nearly three quarters of the week’s volume. This means a large share of the market’s trading activity was concentrated in a small number of stocks rather than spread evenly across listed companies.

Meanwhile, the market’s 1.36 per cent gain indicates that the overall value of listed equities increased during the week. The performance of individual shares was mixed, however, with 43 gainers and 39 losers.

WHAT’S NEXT

Champion Breweries, Caverton Offshore Support Group, AXA Mansard Insurance, Oando and Veritas Kapital Assurance led the gainers’ chart.

Their share prices rose by ₦2.40, 75 kobo, ₦1.90, ₦4.90 and 14 kobo respectively.

Livingtrust Mortgage Bank, Thomas Wyatt Nigeria, Okomu Oil, Nigerian Aviation Handling Company and Nigerian Enamelware recorded the biggest price declines.

Their shares fell by 53 kobo, 32 kobo, ₦139.10, ₦15.10 and ₦3.65 respectively.

Overall, 43 equities appreciated, compared with 29 in the previous week. Thirty-nine declined, down from 57, while 64 remained unchanged, against 60 previously.

BOTTOM LINE

The NGX recorded a stronger weekly gain in share trading volume and a 1.36 per cent rise in its All-Share Index, despite a decline in the total value of transactions. The concentration of activity in three equities also shows that the increase in trading was not evenly distributed across the market.